


Poisoned Truth

by Darkrivertempest



Series: In The Spirit - Halloween Double Drabbles [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Disturbing Themes, Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8013529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkrivertempest/pseuds/Darkrivertempest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wizarding society thinks Neville Longbottom is an innocuous, brilliant herbologist. He cultivates this notion as he does his beloved plants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poisoned Truth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluemermaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemermaid/gifts).



> Written for Bluemermaid at the 2015 HP_Halloween community on LiveJournal.
> 
> Bluemermaid wanted horror and, though it may be a stretch, the prompt of 'monster' as well. And if that wasn't enough, there is visual confirmation that a particular fungus exists: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii). Many thanks to my beta Delphipsmith (and her science-y husband!). She is a brave soul!
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** _The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story._

You wouldn’t think it to look at him, but Neville Longbottom was a much sought-after herbologist, even before he became a professor at Hogwarts. He would coax the rarest (and most difficult) plants into growing to spectacular heights; his vines would produce the most luscious fruit; he even solved the problem of the screaming Mandrakes, substituting Chinese Fleeceflower for the first year students’ lessons. His _pièces de résistance_ were his self-carving pumpkins, grown with a predetermined shape, which graced the Great Hall during Halloween.

Neville never revealed how he conjured the plants into grandiose life, but his secrets were coveted by Potion Masters and herbologists world-wide. 

When his _Hydnellum peckii_ , or Devil’s Tooth fungus, drew acclaim, he thought nothing of his friend Luna Lovegood requesting an interview for an article to expound on his techniques. Of course, he hadn’t gone into much depth, but he hadn’t counted on Luna’s tenacity. Her penchant for conspiracy theories proved to be her undoing, and Neville’s secrets are still closely guarded. 

Neville often thinks of Luna when he cultivates his ‘bleeding’ fungus. After all, mushrooms cannot manufacture haemoglobin; if they need blood as a spore transport mechanism, they must therefore get it from somewhere...


End file.
